About AlanPaul
Alan Paul is the author of the New York Times bestseller One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band and the acclaimed memoir Big in China. He is also a singer and guitarist who fronts the Big in China band and Friends of the Brothers, the premier tribute to the Allman Brothers Band.
Entries by AlanPaul
Story behind Sweet Home Alabama on the 40th anniversary of the crash
On this day (October 20) in 1977, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s twin engine plane crashed in a swamp in Gillsburg, Miss., killing three of the band members – singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and singer Cassie Gaines – assistant manager Dean Kilpatrick and both pilots on impact. Twenty other people survived with various injuries, some very […]
RIP Johnny Sandlin: An interview with one of his oldest friends.
Johnny Sandlin’s death was the fourth terrible blow this year to the Allman Bothers Band community, following the losses of Butch Trucks, Col. Bruce Hampton and, of course, Gregg Allman. Sandlin was probably the least known outside the core family, but he played a central role in the band’s career from the time he met […]
The Circle is Unbroken – Friends of the Brothers Return to Brooklyn Bowl 10/25
We will never allow the circle to be broken. Very excited to be returning to the great Brooklyn Bowl with Friends of the Brothers on October 25. Tickets are just $12 and presales are a big help. Click here. FOB features Peter Levin (Gregg Allman, keys), Andy Aledort (Dickey Betts, guitar, vox), and Junior Mack […]
Some thoughts on Paul McCartney and Bob Dylan shows
I was motivated to go see Paul McCartney last night pretty directly by Gregg Allman’s passing. Same thing that drove me to see Bob Dylan and John Prine a few months ago. I hadn’t seen the latter two in years, and had never seen Sir Paul and the deaths of Gregg and Levon Helm and […]
9/11 16 years later – still raw
Reposted today, as I do every year on this date. I don’t think the words will ever be any less true. Last week, the whole family visited the Flight 93 crash sight in Shanksville, PA and paid our respects. All the same feelings… Fifteen years later, 9-11 is still very, very raw to me. In 2011, on […]
Inside the Making of Gregg Allman’s Southern Blood
Scott Sharrard joined Gregg Allman’s band as guitarist in 2008 and became the Musical Director in 2014. His first run as MD was at the Macon Opera House, shows captured on the Back To Macon, GA live album and DVD. “We had been spending a lot of time writing together, developing this relationship as collaborators […]
Gregg Allman: A Personal Reflection
I am re-posting in advance of the Friday, September 8 release of his final album, Southern Blood. “Check this out, man!” Gregg Allman leaned back in his chair and pulled his shirt up to reveal giant scarring across his midsection. “Ooh boy! If they told me how much it hurt, I would have just said, ‘No […]
Roots Rock Revival: What It’s All About
On Monday, August 14, some 100 music lovers and jam fiends from all over the world will descend on the Full Moon Resort near Woodstock New York for the fifth annual Roots Rock Revival music camp. Roots Rock was the brainchild of Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks, who recruited a staff of teachers/counselors including bassist […]
Watch video for Gregg Allman’s “My Only True Friend”
Rounder Records has released a video for “My Only True Friend,” the first single off of Gregg Allman’s last album, Southern Blood, which will be released Sept. 8 but can be ordered now by clinking the link in the album title. The song is very moving and the video is very cool. What do you think?